The subject matter herein relates generally to interconnecting circuit boards, and more particularly, to electrical connector assemblies that are configured to electrically couple arrays of contacts.
Some electrical systems, such as servers, routers, and data storage systems, utilize connector assemblies for transmitting signals and/or power through the electrical system. Such connector assemblies typically include a backplane or a midplane circuit board, a motherboard, and a plurality of daughter cards. The connector assemblies also include one or more electrical connectors that are attached to the circuit board(s) for interconnecting the daughter cards to the circuit board(s) when the daughter card is inserted into the electrical system. Each daughter card includes a header or receptacle assembly having a mating face that is configured to connect to a mating face of the electrical connector. The header/receptacle assembly is typically positioned on or near a leading edge of the daughter card. Prior to being mated, the mating faces of the header/receptacle assembly and the electrical connector are aligned with each other and face each other along a mating axis. The daughter card is then moved in an insertion direction along the mating axis until the mating faces engage and mate with each other.
The conventional backplane and midplane connector assemblies provide for interconnecting the daughter cards to the backplane or midplane circuit board by moving the daughter card in an insertion direction which is the same as the mating direction. In some cases it may be desirable to mate the daughter card in a mating direction that is perpendicular to the insertion direction. However, when the header/receptacle assembly is on a surface of the daughter card and faces a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction and the electrical connector is on the backplane circuit board and also faces a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction, the daughter card and the backplane circuit board may be misaligned and unable to connect. In addition, connector assemblies that include a backplane or midplane circuit board may affect the electrical system's cooling capabilities by, for example, limiting airflow through the system.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electrical connector assembly that facilitates interconnection of circuit boards that are oriented in an orthogonal relationship. Furthermore, there is also a need for alternative electrical connector assemblies that are capable of connecting daughter cards to a backplane or midplane circuit boards of the subject systems.